It seems that everything else that he did in his presidency is 2nd shelf compared to the pardon. Thats all everyone talks about.
2006-12-27 00:56:32 · 16 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Government
I think Ford made decisions based on his very sound and firm moral code. So no, I do not think he ever regretted it. Nor should he. It was the right thing to do. Remember-the right thing isn't always the easy thing or the popular thing. Too many people live their lives doing the easy/popular things.
2006-12-27 01:03:08 · answer #1 · answered by kelly24592 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
The only one who really knows is dead now. All other answers are just speculation. I hope he never regretted it. At the time, taking a former president and putting him on trial would have been very devisive. Some answers here are a bit off the mark. Nixon's crimes were not that someone in his administration spied but that Nixon worked to cover it up. The evidence was sketchy. If the evidence was clear as a bell, Ford may have decided not to issue the pardon. Another reason the pardon was granted was that the country was just sick and tired of the whole mess. It was distracting us from more important matters.
It was also suggested this is what cost Ford the reelection. That is true to an extent. Ford also made a HUGE error in the debates with Carter. His error was the nail in the colfin.
Ford was a good man. His place in history may have been to bridge the gap between Nixon and the inevitable president to be elected from the opposition party. Too bad it turned out to be Carter, the worse president we have ever had. Carter's place was to pave the way for Renauldus Maximus.
2006-12-27 01:54:12 · answer #2 · answered by Bill G 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
President Ford did indeed have some misgivings about granting Nixon a pardon. He did however have the foresight to see that this was the most expedient way to stop the rancor in the congress and start the nation towards reuniting. History will bear out that he was correct in his assumption. It was his pardoning of Nixon that allowed Jimmy carter to get elected...no other reason. I personally believe That Mr. Ford would have had a very good and positive administration if her were elected in 1976.
Rest in Peace Mr. President!
2006-12-27 04:18:07 · answer #3 · answered by Jim G 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Politics is what it is, just plain out to get whatever you can. There was other things involved with that pardon of Nixon, not just the actions of President Ford.
2016-03-29 08:06:34 · answer #4 · answered by Michelle 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No. President Ford was a man of great character and based his decisions on what he believed to be the right thing to do, which in this case was to pardon Nixon and history has proved that it was the right decision.
2006-12-27 01:06:46 · answer #5 · answered by notaxpert 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
That's all everyone talks about because in the string of American presidents, Ford is just a blip on the radar, really.
He wasn't president very long, and as has been stated, he inherited the office; he wasn't elected. He was basically holding down the fort. Most likely, he lost his bid for re-election because of Nixon. Voters chose Carter to "punish" Republicans, not unlike the Democratic victories from last month. It's the natural cycle of politics.
2006-12-27 01:05:16 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
I don't think so. The reason being is that back then the presidency ment something. It was the highest honor a citizen could hold. As such the pardon was less about Nixon being deserving of it and more about protecting the office.
2006-12-27 01:00:59 · answer #7 · answered by Michael B 1 · 1⤊ 1⤋
No... I do not believe he ever regretted taking that action.. Personally, I thought Nixon was GREAT.. It was that bunch of clowns that he had around him that were power hungry and corrupt.. G. Gordon Liddy, and the rest of that outfit.... Also, on a personal note, I did NOT care at all for Gerald Ford and even though Jimmy Carter was by far.. BY FAR the worst idiot to be president, Ford was a little better than that Anti-American CArter
2006-12-27 01:02:10 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 3⤋
I'm sure that he had some regrets but I think it was the right thing to do because our needed to move along and not waste any more time on Nixon's transgressions.
2006-12-27 01:48:06 · answer #9 · answered by Peter Pumpkin Eater 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I have read in interviews and whatnot that President Ford had no regrets whatsoever about his decision. Although he was widely criticized at the time, it seems that people now generally consider it to have been a wise decision.
2006-12-27 00:59:44 · answer #10 · answered by Cracker 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋